[MUD-Dev] Star Wars Galaxies: 1 character per server

[Michael Tresca]

Tess Lowe posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 5:53 AM

> I really dont need or want to be forced into socialising because
> I'm unable to make myself independently productive. I get enough
> of that from Real Life. Enforced socialising is just another
> school playground. I dont want that. I want to be self-supporting
> so that I can pick and choose who I interact with.

This brings up a good point: does there HAVE to be socialization in
MMORPGs?

Yes. At least, the majority must support it so the lone wolves can
exist.  If there is no benefit to social interaction, the social
fabric of the MMORPG breaks down.  And of course, social fabric is
what makes the game money and keeps it viable in the long term.

People will play games long after they've gotten bored with them
because of the social bonds.  Lone wolves come and go.  Lone wolves
are usually Goal-Oriented Players (GOP) who concentrate exclusively
on a set of goals.  Yes, the social artifacts will slow a GOP down,
absolutely.

But the problem is, a GOP who sheds all social factors that might
otherwise slow him (like not having to barter with merchants when
his mule-merchant gives his tank whatever it wants) quickly gets
ahead.  In a game that has points and power levels, a lone wolf GOP
becomes a desirable thing to be.  If the game doesn't reinforce the
social interaction, very rapidly the lone wolf GOP are the most
successful.  And then in no time, they crowd out the other play
styles.

Social interaction must be rewarded on a MMORPG.  It's one of the
fundamental lynch pins of a long-term community.  Without it, the
MMORPG's social fabric degrades.  I've always said that it was a
shame entire clans have more cohesion on the web than the MMORPGs
themselves were able to provide.

So fine, be a lone wolf.  But a muling lone wolf is someone who is
taking all the advantages of a social group, i.e. other bodies, and
none of the disadvantages.  What gives the social group the edge?
In plain terms: a social group has the advantages of teamwork and
multiple bodies to do more work.  But the downside is they are all
unknown quantities.  They've got their own personal motivations,
many of them selfish.  Playing with other people requires some
measure of risk.

The long wolf GOP immediately sees this as too much risk.  Muling
removes all the risk of social interaction and achieves many of the
in-game benefits.  Which means very quickly, the social groups are
at a disadvantage in achieving any in-game success.  A MMORPG with a
year or two of lone wolf GOP mulers, and that's all you have left.

> Social constructs arise naturally as an expression of the
> interactions of the people who comprise them. There is no need for
> them to have a 'purpose' which can be 'destroyed'. Indeed, if you
> impose a purpose, expect a group of rebels to emerge, dedicated to
> destroying it.

You misunderstand me: social constructs exist to be SOCIAL.  Their
only purpose is their existence.  As a lone wolf, you may choose not
to participate and that has a limited impact on the construct.  As a
muler, you are REPLACING the social network with a hive mind.
That's harmful by its very existence.

> Now, I am as much against muling as you obviously are; but not for
> the same reasons. I *want* to be isolated from the vast swathes of
> humanity. I have a house so I don't have to share space. I have a
> car so I dont have to rely on public transport. I earn money so I
> dont have to depend on charity. Why shouldn't I play a martial
> artist who can teleport herself around like a wizard while also
> mastering the crafting of nunchuks? It's not reasonable to be a
> master of everything, but why shouldn't I be self-sufficient in
> the areas that I most appreciate and enjoy? If my character is fed
> up having to beg for teleportation, doesn't it make sense that
> she'd make every effort to gain that skill for herself, whatever
> the cost?

I share your lack of enthusiasm about diving into big pile of
confused, entropic humanity in a virtual box.  But I will state that
what you're talking about is control and risk.  If you want to play
a super hero who does everything, you should a play game that's
about super heroes who do everything.  Star Wars is not that game.

Star Wars is about heroic characters with sometimes near fatal
flaws.  It's grandiose and epic.  There's not much grandiose or epic
about muling.

What I'm saying here: at some point, a MMORPG that wants to retain
the integrity of its setting will have to be more strict about what
play styles will be tolerated.  And it is by no means a requirement
that they ALL be accepted.

> The need for mules is a design flaw. I am against muling because
> it devalues the economy for those who don't do it and reduces the
> signal to noise ratio of interesting interaction. I am therefore

If muling happens because the game does not sufficiently provide
storage capacity, it's a game flaw that should be fixed.  If muling
happens because the game is not robust enough to support a variety
of choices, it's a character design flaw that should be resolved.
But if muling happens because a GOP wants to get ahead and can do it
more quickly and efficiently by using five pairs of hands instead of
one, that's harmful to the game.

> strongly in favor of SCS. I fervently *hope* that SWG will not
> force me to interact with too many idiots as a result.

Me and you both.

Mike "Talien" Tresca
RetroMUD Administrator
http://www.retromud.org/talien



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